MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

It has been a busy week for the Misano World Circuit. A wide selection of riders from the MotoGP paddock were on track on Tuesday and Wednesday, on a variety of machines. There were test riders, MotoGP riders, and Moto2 riders, some testing and some training ready for the race here in two weeks time.

Four MotoGP manufacturers were present. KTM had test rider Dani Pedrosa, while Ducati had Michele Pirro. For Yamaha, Monster Energy riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins were present, along with temporary test rider Andrea Dovizioso. Dovizioso had been brought in to replace Yamaha's official test rider Cal Crutchlow, who is still recovering from complications to a hand injury. For HRC, Repsol Honda riders Luca Marini and Joan Mir attended on Wednesday, with a long list of things to test.

Yamaha were at the track for two days, testing a new aero package and the updated engine which both Quartararo and Rins praised after a previous test. The objective is to test it again at the Misano test, with the hope of introducing it after that. The engine sacrifices peak horsepower for rideability, and gives the M1 back some of its ease of changing direction, which got lost when the factory started chasing more power.

The Yamaha's biggest problem remains an inability to use the available grip. And it does not look like this is an issue the Japanese factory has been able to solve. After the test, Fabio Quartararo posted a photo on his Instagram account, along with the jokey comment "If someone have some grip to sell, let me know".

Honda had a lot of parts to test, Luca Marini told journalists after the Austrian GP. "Looks like we will have quite a busy day," the Repsol Honda rider told us on Sunday after the Austrian race. "There's something on the aerodynamics side, that for me is now the area where we need to work more. I hope that they understood the ground effect and how the other manufacturers are able to make the bike turn and stop in a very good way. So for me that will be the main target, finish the test with a good aero package. Then I think we will have something, maybe a swingarm, something in the swingarm, and also maybe a frame, or for the chassis maybe we have to wait until after the Misano test, something like this."

Marini emphasized that though there were a lot of new parts coming, this did not equate to a new motorcycle. "Honestly, very little details," he explained. "So everything is new but not a completely new project. It's slightly better more or less every time, every update. But really little difference. So if you are going to bring the bike of the start of the season here - maybe not for me because I didn't like it, but maybe for Zarco - the difference would be very close."

Something more significant is due to come for the Hondas at the Misano test, Marini told us. "There is something that can be big, but I never tried it on a bike. So there is something. We will see after I have tried it. Can be a good improvement, or a very bad thing. So let's wait for the moment that we are going to try that part."

In addition to the MotoGP bikes, there were other machines there as well. Pedro Acosta was riding a Moto2 machine around Misano, working on the WP suspension which all of the Pierer Mobility Group teams (Ajo, Aspar, Liqui Moly) have been using. Mattia Pasini was also there for Boscoscuro, as well as Matteo Ferrari for the QJMOTOR Gresini squad.

The VR46 Riders Academy also took advantage of the track. Pecco Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli, and Marco Bezzecchi were all riding Ducati Panigales at the track, while Valentino Rossi was back on two wheels, riding his Yamaha R1M around Misano.

For Yamaha and Honda, progress at the test will be imperative. Once we arrive at Aragon, we will have a chance to quiz the riders present on how the test went.